Sept. 26, 2015 Final Stats
Final Stats | Season Stats | Schedule
SPRINGFIELD - The Missouri State (3-2-2) men's soccer team captured its first conference win of the seasons here Saturday, knocking off MVC preseason favorite, SIU Edwardsville (4-3-1), in overtime by a score of 1-0. The winning goal came from junior Jack Griffin off of a corner kick assist from Phil Woods in the 100th minute.
MSU opened the match with SIUE in a defensive battle, as the two teams battled to reach the net. Two shots taken by SIUE were blocked by MSU defenders at the mouth of the goal. MSU goalkeeper Liam Priestley was able to tally two saves and add a fourth shutout to his resume on the season.
The game-changer came in the 85th minute of the game as SIUE's Jabari Danzy received a red card with an immediate ejection from the game. Leaving the Cougars with ten men on the field, MSU was able to build momentum.
On the offensive side, the Bears out-shot the Cougars 12-4, with an impressive six shots coming in overtime. Reigning MVC player of the week, Jake Buckle, had two shots in the game both on the goal. Six other Bears had shot, including junior captain Jack Griffin.
The Bears took two corner kicks within 15 seconds of each other. The first corner came from Nick Burtenshaw who was able to reach Mikey Lightbourne slightly left of the goal. Lightbourne took the shot as it went just left of the goal resulting in a second corner kick for the Bears. Woods would take the second corner, as Griffin was able to position himself in the center of the pack. Woods took the kick and Griffin was able to send a header through the back of the net.
Griffin is more excited about the win than receiving the game-winning goal for the Bears. "We thought we should have scored on the corner kick beforehand," said Griffin. "The intensity of the crowd helped push us harder. We knew we had to continue momentum and we had to be patient and wait for the goal to come."
Head coach Jon Leamy commends SIUE on a well-fought battle. "We knew it was going to be a tough game and we were going to have to fight hard," said Leamy. "We were able to move the ball and find a gap."
The Bears embark on a two-game road swing next week with road games at No. 1 Creighton (Sept. 29) and Drake (Oct. 3) before returning to Allison South Stadium on Oct. 6 to face Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m.
#MSUBears
